Joel Spolsky, whose company created the program I use to run this web site, is writing about software design again. His first book User Interface Design for Programmers is an essential volume on what makes software usable and useful (there is a difference). Now, his new series of articles, entitled Great Design, goes beyond usability (which will only take you so far as a good design) to analyze what makes a design great, whether the design be software or soda cans.

He's already written three articles that make up the introduction, so now's the time to catch up! There are lots more articles to come. Highly recommended reading!